The present invention relates generally to merchandise display apparatus, and more particularly relates to mounting devices for merchandise display apparatus.
In the retail industry, mounting devices are commonly used to suspend display apparatuses such as wire hooks, baskets or shelves from a vertical support. Common supports include pegboards, slot walls, wire grids and crossbars. The display apparatuses are used to display merchandise products for sale. Since retail stores frequently offer new products for sale, they are often required to move and re-arrange the merchandise products accordingly. Therefore, the display apparatuses, mounting devices, and associated supports are generally constructed to accommodate the ever-changing display of merchandise, i.e. facilitating re-arrangement.
With regard to crossbars, brackets are often used to mount a display apparatus to the crossbar, thereby vertically mounting the apparatus and its merchandise products for display. A typical crossbar bracket generally comprises a front plate and two rearwardly projecting tabs as shown on pages 41-42 of the 1999 Southern Imperial Catalog. The tabs extend from the upper end of the front plate and are bent relative thereto to form a small hook. Typically the tabs are rolled to form curved hooks. The hooked tabs are used to attach the device to a crossbar, and are placed over the upper surface of the crossbar to engage the uppermost portion of the crossbar, while the front plate is disposed adjacent the forward facing surface of the crossbar. A lower end of the tabs may engage the rearward facing surface of the crossbar. Thus, these brackets provide simple and quick attachment of a display device to a cross bar, and can be easily removed and repositioned along the same crossbar or a different one during re-arrangement of a retail store.
Although these crossbar brackets have enjoyed much commercial success and have the benefit of easy installation, removal and re-installation, experience has shown that the load-bearing capacity of these brackets is often insufficient. While the prior art brackets are satisfactory for smaller and hence lighter merchandise items, these brackets may be prone to failure when heavier items induce increased loads on the bracket. Specifically, the rear tabs of the brackets which provide the easy installation are unable to sustain high loads, and will bend under the stress placed thereon. Furthermore, these brackets suffer in that they may be accidentally removed from the crossbar when patrons remove merchandise products from the display apparatus which is attached to the bracket.
In light of the above, a general object of the present invention is to provide a crossbar bracket having a higher load-bearing capacity suitable for the retail industry.
In that regard, it is also an object of the present invention to accomplish the above objective while maintaining the ease and simplicity of attachment and removal of the crossbar bracket.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a crossbar bracket that remains attached to the crossbar as products are removed from the display apparatus attached to the bracket.
In accordance with these objects, the present invention provides a display apparatus mountingbracket that snaps onto a crossbar and that has longer rear mounting legs that provide greater load bearing capacity. The mounting bracket is generally U-shaped as defined by a substantially parallel front plate and flange. The front plate is adapted to have display apparatus mounted thereto. The flange includes a top portion or top and a rear portion or leg, the top portion attached to the front plate and projecting away therefrom, the rear portion disposed generally parallel to the front plate. The inner surfaces of the front plate and flange define an interior space for receiving the crossbar, and between the lower ends of the front plate and rear portion of the flange is defined an entrance to the interior space. The rear flange projects downwardly a distance approximately half the height of the crossbar to which the bracket is to be attached. The parallel nature of the rear flange relative to the crossbar, and the distance which it extends downward along the crossbar, provides the high load-bearing capacity of the mounting bracket. In contrast to prior art devices, the rear portion or leg of the flange is longer which requires more bending and therefore a greater vertical force to dislodge the bracket from the crossbar.
It is a feature of the present invention to orient the entrance of the bracket such that the bracket provides a snap-fit with the crossbar. The benefits of such a construction are two-fold. First, the snap-fit construction maintains the simplicity with which the mounting device may be attached and removed from a crossbar. Second, the snap-fit construction provides a snug fitting interior space for receiving the crossbar, thereby safely and securely retaining the crossbar within the interior space when snapped into place to prevent the bracket from being accidentally removed from the crossbar by patrons retrieving merchandise.
In that regard, it is a further feature of the present invention to angle the downward end of the front plate towards the rear portion of the flange. This decreases the size of the entrance and orients the entrance such that the crossbar does not naturally fit through the entrance. The bracket is constructed of a resilient material, such that the front plate and flange may flex outwardly from the interior space, thereby widening the entrance and allowing the crossbar to enter the interior space. Upon receiving the crossbar, the resilient front plate and flange return to their original positions, securing the crossbar within the interior space. The quick flexing and return of the bracket produces a snap-fit with the crossbar.
These and other object and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.